Tyson Fury, sporting a lumberjack-esque look, arrived for the press conference for his rematch against WBA, WBC, and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st. Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) appeared subdued, with his former smug attitude erased due to his recent loss to Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) on May 18th.
Fans are already predicting a wipeout defeat for Tyson, believing that Usyk’ll knock him clean out in their clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s hard to argue with them because, after the last fight, Usyk knows exactly what he must do to knockout Fury by overwhelming him with punches, as he did in the ninth round.
Tyson was saved by the referee from suffering a knockout when he shoved Usyk away just as he was able to finish off the beaten Gypsy King, and he gave him a standing eight count. The chances of that happening again are slim because the referee won’t want to receive criticism like the one that worked in the first fight.
Fury Can’t Afford to Lose
It’s believed that the 36-year-old Fury will come in heavier for the rematch because he believes he was at his best when he weighed 273 lbs for his second fight against Deontay Wilder in February 2020. The difference is that Usyk isn’t Wilder, and Fury is no longer 31 years old.
Everything is different in this fight. Usyk has actual talent, and he won’t be subdued by the mauling and rabbit punches that Fury used to defeat Wilder on that night. Fury did attempt to lean on Usyk during the clinches in their previous fight, but he roughly shoved him away each time, making it clear that he wouldn’t allow him to use that dirty tactic to cheat his way to victory.
Fury knows what’s at stake for the rematch. He cannot get the tar beaten out of him a second time by Usyk if he wants to keep his popularity high and have boxing fans excited about seeing him face Anthony Joshua in 2025.
On the hunt for revenge 😤 @Tyson_Fury #UsykFury2 | #RiyadhSeason | December 21, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/HQuilRMTp6
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) October 23, 2024
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